Current use of drains and management of seroma following mastectomy and axillary surgery: results of a United Kingdom national practice survey.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Up to 40% of the 56,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK undergo mastectomy. Seroma formation following surgery is common, may delay wound healing, and be uncomfortable or delay the start of adjuvant treatment. Multiple strategies to reduce seroma formation include surgical drains, flap fixation and external compression exist but evidence to support best practice is lacking. We aimed to survey UK breast surgeons to determine current practice to inform the feasibility of undertaking a future trial.

Methods

An online survey was developed and circulated to UK breast surgeons via professional and trainee associations and social media to explore current attitudes to drain use and management of post-operative seroma. Simple descriptive statistics were

SUBMITTER: Fairhurst K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10787912 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature